[JNV] No More Fallujahs - Last Minute Information

[JNV]

"[T]he tragedy is that public opinion against the war seems to be reflected
nowhere. Incidentally, with the partial exception of Britain, this applies
to the antiwar movement elsewhere as well. Neoliberalism is the grammar of
politics in most parts of the globe and induces an institutionalized apathy.
Imaginative, nonviolent guerrilla antiwar actions seem to be the only
solution." - Tariq Ali (see http://tinyurl.com/yhrrm2)
 
"I can't get involved! I've got work to do! It's not that I like the Empire.
I hate it! But there's nothing I can do about it right now. It's such a long
way from here" - Luke Skywalker
 
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Dear friends and fellow anti-war campaigners,
 
This is a last minute reminder about this weekend's "No More Fallujahs"
weekend of nonviolent resistance to the occupation of Iraq which begins
tonight with the book launch of Maya Evan's new book "Naming the Dead - A
Serious Crime" (see www.rememberfallujah.org and / or [A] below).
 
If you're planning to come to the "unauthorised" 24-hour peace camp on
Sunday, then we strongly recommend that you attend tomorrow's nonviolent
direct action workshop and legal briefing (see [A] below). If you can't make
this but would like to pick up a placard, a tent or some leaflets for the
day then there will be an opportunity to do this immediately after the
workshop at 7.45pm. Please note that the more of this stuff gets picked up
on Saturday the more likely it is to actually reach Parliament Square on the
Sunday!
 
We would also urge you to arrive in the Square *promptly* at 12 noon on the
Sunday (remember that the clocks go back 1 hour at midnight on Saturday).
Finally, if you haven't already done so, we recommend that campers contact
their local media - see [B] below for a template press release based on one
produced by a local activist in Wrexham.
 
Best wishes,
 
Gabriel Carlyle of Voices in the Wilderness UK
on behalf of the Mass Action Group
www.rememberfallujah.org
 

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[A] NO MORE FALLUJAHS
A weekend of nonviolent resistance to the occupation of Iraq on the 2nd
anniversary of the November 2004 US/UK massacre in Fallujah
www.rememberfallujah.org
 
Organised by the Mass Action Group and supported by CND, Iraq Occupation
Focus, JNV, Red Pepper, Radical Activist Network, Stop the War, Voices UK
and dozens of other groups from around the country.
 
FRIDAY 27 OCTOBER
* BOOK LAUNCH OF "NAMING THE DEAD - A SERIOUS CRIME" by Maya Evans - the
first person to be convicted of participating in an unauthorised
demonstration in the vicinity of Parliament under the Serious Organised
Crime and Police Act (2005). 7.30pm, Housmans Bookshop, 5 Caledonian Road N1 9DX
(tube: Kings X). See www.j-n-v.org.
 
SATURDAY 28 OCTOBER:
* PEACE JOURNEY FROM THE UK'S MILITARY NERVE CENTRE IN NORTHWOOD. Meet 11am,
Northwood tube station. Finish 4pm, central London.
* NONVIOLENT DIRECT ACTION WORKSHOP AND LEGAL BRIEFING. 4.30 - 7.30pm,
Diorama 3, 3-7 Euston Centre, London NW1 3JG (tube: Warren Street).
[Directions to Diorama 3 from Warren Street tube: Exit the station and turn
left to face 40-story Euston tower. Cross the road heading towards the tower. 
Turn left in front of the tower, carry on, and turn right after Pret-A-Manger. 
We are in the ground floor of the building with the 4-story, pop art, electric fan painting. 
Look for the door beneath the sign that reads D3.]
 
SUNDAY 29 OCTOBER:
"UNAUTHORISED" 24-HOUR PEACE CAMP IN PARLIAMENT SQUARE
to demand an end to the occupation. ASSEMBLE 12 NOON, PARLIAMENT SQUARE.
N.B: Under the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act participation in such
an "unauthorised" demonstration is a criminal offence punishable by a fine
of up to one thousand pounds.
 
Accommodation will be available on request on the evenings of 27 and 28 Oct.
Contact 0845 458 2564 or e-mail gabriel@voices.netuxo.co.uk. Likewise, if
you're planning to risk arrest at the peace camp on Sunday 29th and would
like to reserve a two-person tent please contact us immediately (limited
numbers available!).
 
A complete brochure for the weekend is available on the Remember Fallujah
web-site: www.rememberfallujah.org
 

*****************************************************


[B] PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE
 
PRESS RELEASE
27th October 2006
 
PEACE CAMPAIGNER RISKS ARREST TO PROTEST AGAINST THE OCCUPATION OF IRAQ
 
[INSERT YOUR NAME HERE], [INSERT YOU AGE], from [INSERT WHERE YOU LIVE],
will travel to London this weekend to take part in "No More Fallujahs", two
days of nonviolent civil disobedience against the occupation of Iraq.
[INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] has been campaigning against the invasion and
occupation of Iraq since 2002.
 
The weekend, organised by the London Mass Action Group and supported by
CND, Stop the War Coalition, Wrexham Peace & Justice Forum and scores of
other organisations, will involve a peace walk and a 24-hour peace camp.
 
[YOUR NAME HERE] will join other campaigners from all over the country on a peace
journey from Britain's military nerve-centre at Northwood to central London
on Saturday 28th October.  On Sunday 29th October, decorated tents will be
erected in Parliament Square for a 24-hour peace camp.  These events mark
the second anniversary of the massive attack on the Iraqi city of Fallujah,
which was led by the US and carried out with British support.
 
The peace camp will be held in Parliament Square.  This camp is deemed
to be an "unauthorised" demonstration under the provisions of the Serious
Organised Crime and Police Act (SOCPA), and all participants risk arrest.
It is one year since Maya Evans was arrested and subsequently became the
first person to be convicted under SOCPA for the "crime" of standing at the
Cenotaph and reading out the names of British soldiers who had been killed
in Iraq.  Maya will also take part in the "No More Fallujahs" weekend.
 
 
[INSERT YOUR NAME HERE] said:
 
"I am taking part in this weekend to remember the people of Fallujah: those
who were killed or injured, those who lost loved ones, those who were made
homeless by the attacks.  Of the 700 bodies recovered in Fallujah after the
attack, 550 were women and children. Hospitals were targeted and patients,
doctors, nurses and other hospital staff were killed.  White phosphorus was
used by the US in Fallujah, causing horrific injuries to civilians.
 
"I will also be thinking about how all the people of Iraq have suffered over
the last three and a half years.  The Lancet has estimated that 650,000
people have died in Iraq as a result of the invasion and occupation.  We are
demanding an immediate end to the US/UK military occupation of Iraq,
reparations and debt cancellation so the Iraqis can rebuild their own
country without foreign interference, and prosecution of those responsible
for war crimes.
 
"I have decided to take part in this "unauthorised" peace camp and to risk
arrest because I believe that it is my right to express my dissent
peacefully in a place of my choosing.  "Authorised" demonstrations under
SOCPA can be arbitrarily restricted by the police in terms of where, when and 
for how long they take place, numbers allowed to attend, the amount of noise 
allowed and the number and size of placards.  I believe that such restrictions 
breach my human rights.
 
"It is very important to me that I should be able to express my dissent now,
at a time when those responsible for the invasion, Bush and Blair, are
already under pressure from their own military leaders.  Repressive laws such as 
SOCPA are designed to stifle dissent and to limit the right to free speech. It is vital for
ordinary people to resist unjust laws."
 
For more information, please contact [INSERT YOUR CONTACT DETAILS HERE]
 
NOTES
 
For more information about the weekend of action and the November 2004
attack on Fallujah see www.rememberfallujah.org. For more information about
SOCPA see www.parliament-square.org.uk
 
During the attack on Fallujah, US war planes dropped 3 bombs on the
Central Health Clinic, killing 35 patients, including 5 under the age of 10.
15 medics, 4 nurses and 5 health support workers were also killed in the
attack.
 
The US have now admitted (after originally denying) that white phosphorus
was used in the attack on Fallujah.  White phosphorus causes terrible
injuries, burning flesh down
to the bone.
 
After the attack on Fallujah, 700 bodies were recovered by the hospital
emergency team;  the bodies included those of 550 women and children.  Two
babies discovered dead in their homes are believed to have died from malnutrition.  
These figures only include 9 of Fallujah's 27 neighbourhoods.
 
Children, women and old people were told to wave pieces of white cloth as
they left their houses, but many were then deliberately shot by US soldiers
in broad daylight.

One resident of Fallujah, Rahim Abdullah, a teacher, said: "I saw two men
being shot.  They were just ordinary people; they weren't carrying weapons.
The only way to stay alive was to stay inside and hope your house did not
get hit by a shell."  Half of all Fallujah's houses were rendered
uninhabitable or severely damaged in the attack(US State Department
figures).
 
Provisions in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005 limit the
right to protest and demonstrate within 1km of Parliament.  Campaigners are
required to seek authorisation from the police for all such demonstrations,
and the police have powers to impose restrictions on these. There are
currently many challenges to SOCPA underway. For example, Maya Evans and
Milan Rai, who were arrested for reading out the names of the dead at the
Cenotaph, are appealing against their sentences under SOCPA. Brian Haw, who
has been protesting in Parliament Square for the past 5 years, and who was
the original target of the SOCPA provisions, has had his hearing for alleged
SOCPA infringement put on hold while a judicial review investigates the
legality of police actions against Brian carried out in the name of SOCPA.
 
END